Jim Craft

Research Scientist - Limnology

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Office Phone:
406-982-3301 x228

Jim began work at the Bio Station in 1988. Most of his work at
has centered on the ecology
of Flathead Lake. He works with Dr. Jack Stanford, Bonnie Ellis
and others investigating the physical, chemical and biological interactions
taking place in Flathead Lake. In past years he has also studied
the effects of human and natural disturbances on streams and lakes
in northwest Montana including Swan Lake, Whitefish Lake, Ashley
Lake, Little Bitterroot Lake, Lake Mary Ronan, Lindbergh Lake, Lion
Creek, Dog Creek, and the Swan River.

His current projects include investigating long-term
trends in the ecology of Flathead Lake and Whitefish Lake.

Education

MS Organismal and Biological Ecology - University of Montana
1998

BS Wildlife Biology, Aquatic Option - University of Montana
1986

Research Interests

My research interests are focused on large lake and floodplain ecology. Investigating the complex physical, chemical and biological interactions in Flathead Lake and the Kalispell and Nyack floodplains over the past 25+ years with Dr. Bonnie Ellis and Dr. Jack Stanford has been very rewarding. I have a special interest in algal ecology and taxonomy. Plus, I have enjoyed research projects throughout the Flathead watershed including lakes in Glacier National Park, the Flathead Valley and Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. Outside of research I am active with the community mentoring area high school and college students. I also have an open boat policy if anyone wants to spend a day on Flathead Lake and learn about our current research. Combining world class research with community outreach is important to me.

Current Projects

My current projects include investigating long-term trends in Flathead and Whitefish Lake. Both projects enable us to further the scholastic understanding of the interactions taking place in large lake ecosystems, plus they are very important to the local community and the state as a whole.

Current research on Flathead Lake with Dr. Bonnie Ellis and new comer Dr. Shawn Devlin is centered on developing a physical-biological coupled model for Flathead Lake. Over the last few years we expanded our routine sampling to encompass extensive lake-wide sampling in conjunction with the addition of a series of weather stations on and around the lake and two automated vertical profilers in the lake. The model will help us understand and predict changes in the ecology Flathead Lake under different potential scenarios.

Current research on Whitefish Lake emphasizes long-term changes in the algal community biomass and primary productivity. This project is done in conjunction with the Whitefish Lake Institute. This collaborative effort was in response to a limnological study of Whitefish Lake in 2002 (Craft et al., 2003) that was a follow up to an initial study by Golnar and Stanford in 1983.

Findings of the 2002 study included an increase in primary productivity from 69 to 106 g C m-2 yr-1, an increase in phytoplankton biomass from 0.20 to 0.33 cm3 m-3, and an increase in mean maximum chlorophyll a from 1.0 to 1.8 mg L-1 between 1983 and 2002.

Selected Publications and Reports

Ellis, B. K., J. A. Stanford, et al. (2011). "Long-term effects of a trophic cascade in a large lake ecosystem." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 108(3): 1070–1075.